As the snow melts and thoughts of the warm, sunny days of summer enter our minds, we also should begin preparing our children to be safe swimmers.

Nationwide, 300-400 children younger than five years old drown each year. In Missouri, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children five years old and younger. In addition, 77 percent of these children drowned after disappearing for five minutes or less.

How can we prevent such tragedies? These four prevention steps can help:

1. Enroll your child in a swimming program and continue with lessons until your child is a strong swimmer. Children who have been involved in swim lessons not only have less chance of drowning, they have more respect for the water.

Make sure your program teaches essential skills, and is not just a play-program. It